[pct-l] PCT Micro Hike Report - Part I

[dkwoods33 at yahoo.com (david woods)]

Gee, I am a bit timid about posting here. Much like the guy who flew too close to the sun with his wax wings I could be fried by the proximity to the flames.
 
Anyway, yesterday afternoon I walked from the West end of the Mojave Forks Dam to Deep Creek Hot Springs.
 
It was a beautiful and not untypical California Winter High Desert day, sunny, mid 60's, mild breeze. I wore running shorts and a Cool-max Tee until late afternoon when I added a thin fleece vest.
 
On the way up I noticed that the creek was flowing modestly especially given the warm day and the amount of snow visible higher up. The trail was in fairly good condition. There were small patches of snow at the high point about 1/2 mile before The Springs. I can imagine the trail being icy and terrifying up closer to Arrowhead. The usual PCT mountain bike tracks and damage were present most of the way as well as quite a bit of new, since last Spring, graffiti on various rocks. I will say that The Springs and the entire trail area was remarkably clean and litter free except for a black "water shoe" which was on the trail and now resides in my trash can. One day-hiking couple passed me coming down.
 
At The Springs I sat on a rock (graffiti free) and ate my Hiker Health Food Lunch: a ham sandwich with extra mayo, extra greasy potato chips, a hunk of high fat cheese, 3 large and thickly frosted Valentine's Day cookies, a diet coke and of course a few snack size carrots so I could say it was a balanced meal. 
 
I noted that the days batch of nude bathers was more attractive than the usual refugees from the Moss Isley Bar who hang out there and no, I did not get naked myself. I am sure some on this list, our Camp Nudist and Trail Town Hot Tub Rowdy, Switchback comes to mind, would know just how to proceed in such a situation but I have to confess that I do not. Perhaps if I had a Backpacker's Ultra-lite Micro Latex Helium Filled Johnny Holmes attachment or some such.
 
After lunch I wandered up the creek a ways to see if I could locate some rumored legal campsites supposedly a bit above. I did not see anything too attractive or flat. There are a couple of nicely developed sites at or near The Springs now including a very lovely one in a small grove of trees just below the trail to the South-West of the main pools.  Does someone here know if the no camping policy has been changed?
 
On the return leg I ruminated about why certain persons of a posteriorish nature ride their mountain bikes on the PCT and why some rocket scientist types carry spray paint into the wilderness and leave their sorry art on rocks. The section of trail has several side hill traverses where the trail is just barely hanging on and the bikes really do not help. I noticed prominent graffiti as far up as the lower bridge. As my mother would say, "How revolting!", but all in all a peaceful and idyllic afternoon in the woods.
 
Such is life on the SoCal PCT on a Winter day.
 
Dave Woods
 
"What me worry" - Alfred E. Newman